Greg Kinnear
Birthday: 17 June 1963, Logansport, Indiana, USA
Birth Name: Gregory B. Kinnear
Height: 178 cm
Greg Kinnear was born on June 17, 1963, in Logansport, Indiana, USA to Edward Kinnear, a career diplomat with the US State Department, and Suzanne (Buck) Kinnear, a homemaker. Greg has two brothers--J ...Show More
I was born in Indiana. My father was with the State Department in Washington, D.C. We lived in Resto Show more
I was born in Indiana. My father was with the State Department in Washington, D.C. We lived in Reston, Virginia, for about three years. And then he got his first diplomatic assignment, to the American Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1975, no less, which was the year that the war broke out. So we were there for about nine months. When we first got there it was great, and then it just gradually deteriorated and by the end of our time there I would wake up invariably to the sound of shelling and machine-gun fire. I was about 12 or 13. I'd be in a daze and just walk out to the living room, and there's my family, mom and dad, my brother, sitting there listening to the BBC radio broadcast, as the opera of machine-gun fire is going on around our house. It was just bizarre. We (eventually) got evacuated to Greece, and my dad was reassigned to the American Embassy in Athens. We were there for seven years, that's where I ended up finishing high school. Hide
[on success in Hollywood] I'd like to believe as much of myself as possible is unaffected by the thi Show more
[on success in Hollywood] I'd like to believe as much of myself as possible is unaffected by the things that can get a little heady. Being from Indiana has its benefits. Hide
I'm just doing the best I can with what I have. There are certain physical limitations to being a WA Show more
I'm just doing the best I can with what I have. There are certain physical limitations to being a WASPy-looking dude from Indiana, right? "Travis Bickle [from Taxi Driver (1976)] Part 2" probably ain't coming my way. So with the roles I get, as best as I can I try to see the cracks within the face and then magnify them in an interesting way. Hide
[on undertaking the role of lawyer "Keegan Deane Joye" in Rake (2014)] I don't know that I'd necessa Show more
[on undertaking the role of lawyer "Keegan Deane Joye" in Rake (2014)] I don't know that I'd necessarily want him to represent me in a court of law. I don't mean that as an indictment of the guy, because - without it seeming kitschy, without him being a lawyer 'with a heart of gold' - there are a lot of episodes where he learns nothing. He makes sizable mistakes, and he recognizes that. It's one of the things that makes him human, if not endearing exactly. It was that mix - his being brilliant, despite the self-destructive mechanisms in the rest of his life - that appealed to me. He's a mess. That absolute lack of need for others' approval is hugely attractive, especially if you're an actor. Hide
Setting goals can blind you to opportunities. You might be trying to get to point C; when opportunit Show more
Setting goals can blind you to opportunities. You might be trying to get to point C; when opportunity B comes, you don't even look at it because you're going straight to C. I've never had a clear road map. When things come along, I benefit. Hide
[on his school days] I was always explaining why my term papers were never on time. I think that's w Show more
[on his school days] I was always explaining why my term papers were never on time. I think that's where I got my acting training! Hide
I'm pretty sure my getting cast in Sabrina (1995) was some sort of paperwork misshoveling over at Pa Show more
I'm pretty sure my getting cast in Sabrina (1995) was some sort of paperwork misshoveling over at Paramount. I know that, originally, Sydney Pollack was saying. "Who the hell is Greg Kinnear?" but some women said he should check me out, and he did. When they called me about meeting Sydney Pollack for Sabrina, I assumed it was a crank call. But he was great at putting me at ease. When he found out that I'm from Indiana, and he's also from Indiana, I guess I had it sewed up at that point. It's just the craziest piece of luck. Hide
Greg Kinnear's FILMOGRAPHY
as Actor (204)
Greg Kinnear'S roles
